Vegan Ginger Muffins

Vegan Muffins Rock!

I found a great recipe for Gingerbread muffins from kabochafashion. As usual, I edited some things just a bit- I split the mix in two and added the nuts to half, and MORE dried fruit to the other half- including chopped dates, figs, and dried cranberries (totaling maybe an extra 1/4 cup dried fruit for half the recipe). I really recommend the mixed fruit version for a power-packed little muffin! I also made these as mini muffins, since I love having little bite-sized snacks.


Recipe adapted from the adorable Nicky from The Kabocha Fashionista

Ingredients
Makes ~24 mini muffins, or about 12 regular-sized muffins

• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup oat bran
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
  
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1 medium to large ripe banana
  
• 1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
• 1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp almond milk (I use Trader Joe's unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk- it's awesome, and only has 40 calories per cup!)
• 1/4 cup raisins
  
• 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped-AND/OR 1/4 cup chopped fresh dates, figs, and/or cranberries. (Figs go especially well in these.)
  
• 1/4 cup crystalized ginger, chopped in small bits
  

Steps:

1. Mix together dry ingredients in large bowl: flour, bran, salt, cinnamon, ground cloves, ground ginger, and baking soda. Set aside.
2. Mash the banana in a small bowl. Add in the almond milk and molasses and mix. Add this to the dry ingredients and mix.
3. Fold in chopped ginger, nuts, and raisins (and additional dried fruit if using).
4. Preheat oven to 350. Spray a muffin pan or use liners, and add a spoonful of the batter into each, filling about 3/4 of each muffin well.
5. For mini muffins, bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. For regular-sized muffins, bake for 20-30 minutes.
   

Notes:
These may not be the prettiest muffins I've ever made...that blackstrap molasses is soooo dark! I won't say what the little brown heaps of muffins look like uncooked... ;-) BUT they are tasty! The ginger and dried fruit make such a nice combination- that little kick of spice makes for such a great flavor. I froze about half of the batch to save for later!


PS- Ginger is supposed to be good for soothing the stomach, and these muffins are packed not only with the ground and crystalized ginger, but also use only whole wheat flour, and bran (yay fiber!- plus more fiber if you add in dates & figs, which taste so good in these), as well as NO dairy products. Well hello there, healthy little muffin. I think I will eat you!